Craven Creek Music Festival
Sharing beautiful music

Auro Go

Pianist

Australian pianist Aura Go is a performer, curator and educator. She performs internationally as concerto soloist in repertoire from J.S. Bach to Sofia Gubaidulina, as recitalist and chamber musician in imaginative programs that interweave old and new music, and as narrator and actor in cross-artform and educational projects.

Aura has performed as soloist with the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. Festival highlights include the Edinburgh Festival, PianoEspoo, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. In 2023 Aura toured nationally for Musica Viva in a critically acclaimed performance as pianist-actor in the stage adaptation of Paul Kildea's Chopin's Piano.

Aura enjoys musical partnerships with Tomoe Kawabata as the KIAZMA Piano Duo, and with Timo-Veikko 'Tipi' Valve (Principal Cellist, Australian Chamber Orchestra). Her discography includes the complete Beethoven cello and piano sonatas with Valve (ABC Classics) and first recordings of works by Lisa Illean (NMC Records), Miriama Young (ABC Classics), Japanese piano duo repertoire (KIAZMA), and four-hand music by Ekaterina Komalkova (Tall Poppies).

Aura is Head of Piano at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University, where she leads a vibrant program that nurtures creativity, collaboration and artistic curiosity.

Timo-Veikko Valve

Program Curator and Cello

Timo-Veikko Valve, affectionately known by audiences far and wide as “Tipi”, grew up in Finland, surrounded by a family who are “musically orientated normal people”. Music lessons were a natural part of his upbringing, and at six years old, Tipi was encouraged to pick up the cello after a teacher at the local music school declared with considerable conviction that “he looks just like a cellist!”. To this day, Tipi remains somewhat puzzled about what that statement actually meant. Whatever the subtext, the teacher seems to have been correct.
Valve was appointed Principal Cello of the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2006, and his leadership soon became an integral part of the ACO. Recognised for his natural, creative and generous musicianship, Tipi seeks to define the modern-day musician. Prior to his Australian adventure, Tipi studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki before continuing to the Edsberg Music Institute in Stockholm. Tipi effortlessly transitions between modern and period instruments and describes the cello as a flexible and adaptive partner, both in its role in an ensemble and as a soloist, across all forms of music. He reflects this versatility and enjoys a diverse career as a musician, curator and director, directing from the cello and appearing as a soloist with many of the major orchestras across his two home countries, Finland, and Australia. Tipi is also a sought-after collaborator and frequently appears  as a chamber musician. His active commitment to the music of our times through curating and commissioning has seen him deliver world-premiere performances of multiple concertos and other significant works written especially for him. Currently, Tipi plays on a Brothers Amati cello from 1616, kindly on loan from the ACO Instrument Fund

Harry Bennetts

Violin

Harry Bennetts is one of Australia’s leading young violinists, acclaimed for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader. As a soloist, Harry has appeared with the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australian, Tasmanian, and Canberra Symphony Orchestras. He is a two-time winner of the Australian National Academy of Music Concerto Competition, taking the prize in consecutive years, and was also awarded first prize in the 2015 Kendall National Violin Competition.
His recital performances have taken him to major venues including the Sydney Opera House Utzon Room, Melbourne Recital Centre, Ukaria Cultural Centre—where he performed at the venue’s Opening Gala in 2015—and the Chatswood Concourse. Harry is a founding member of the Chroma Quartet and a regular guest at festivals such as the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, Bendigo Chamber Music Festival, Martinborough Festival, and Blackheath Chamber Music Festival. His chamber music collaborations have also brought him to international stages including the Berlin Philharmonic Kammermusiksaal and the Cologne Philharmonie, and he frequently performs with Musica Viva Australia.
Currently Associate Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Harry has also appeared as Guest Principal with the London Symphony Orchestra and as Guest Concertmaster with the Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras. He has additionally performed with both the Berlin Philharmonic and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Harry’s early training was with Philippa Paige, before continuing his studies at the ANAM with Dr. Robin Wilson and later at the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic . Harry performs on the 1716 “Hazelwood” Grancino violin, generously on loan from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.